The year 2005 marked the rebirth of JUMMEC when the Editorial Board took over from its previous Editor with modest but realistic expectations. One year on, we have successfully achieved our initial expectation, that is, to encourage greater participation from our junior academics to write and publish in our very own journal, JUMMEC. As we head towards the end of 2006 and prepare to usher in 2007, we see JUMMEC consolidating and gaining in strength. Let us reflect on its past achievements and our expectations for the future.(Copied from article).
The learning curve for doing a good qualitative study is steep because qualitative methodologies are often vague and lack explicit steps. We detail the formulation of the grounded theory approach in a study of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who made decisions while strategizing their treatment types. This undertaking is to demonstrate how this systematic and yet flexible methods contributed to the understanding of the issue we were investigating. The process from deciding on research objectives and research questions, follow with systematic process for data collection and analysis allows us to generate a substantive theoretical model. By paying critical attention to theoretical saturation, grounded theory approach enabled us to construct all possible explanatory concepts related to decision making in strategizing diabetes treatment. We also describe the challenges throughout the whole research journey, including getting permission to interview patients, gaining the trust of research participants and staying open to the participants’ views.
Objective: This study validates The Malay Version of The Inventory of Socially Supportive Behaviour. Methods: The psychometric properties of the ISSB- Malay Version were examined on sixty-eight women who were Malay native speakers and diagnosed with breast cancer. Respondents answered the questionnaire at three weeks and ten weeks following surgery for breast cancer. Results: The Malay Version of ISSB showed excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha=0.96). Test-retest Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was 0.03. Small mean differences were observed at test-retest measurement with Effect Size Index 0.18. Conclusion: The Malay Version of the ISSB could be an appropriate tool to measure the supportive behavior of the Malaysian population. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 15 (1): January – June 2014: 23-29.
This study was to obtain baseline information and its associated factors on oral
cancer awareness, practice of risk habits and mouth self-examination (MSE) among selected highrisk
indigenous community in Sarawak. (Copied from article).
With 25% of its population living in over 148 squatter settlements, with a high incidence of communicable diseases, teenage pregnancies, and psychological and familial stress, the city of Kuala Lumpur has sought ways to improve conditions. This article describes one particularly promising approach: community-based centers integrating three socioeconomic components--preschool education, maternal and child health clinics, and income-generating activities.
PIP: The accomplishments of the Sang Kancil Intervention program, a project designed to improve the living conditions of squatter communities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia are described. 25% of Kuala Lumpur's population lives in 148 squatter settlements, where life is especially difficult for women and children. Hoping to improve the living conditions of the urban poor, Kuala Lumpur's City hall initiated the Sang Kancil Intervention program. This program contains 3 components: preschool education, maternal and child health, and income generation. The preschool component provides education, food supplements, and medical checkups and treatment to children in the squatter settlements. In order to foster community participation, the teachers of the preschool program are chosen from among the squatter community, and mothers are encouraged to become involved. Evaluations of the preschools reveal positive attitudes from mothers and teachers, high attendance rates, and higher IQ test scores among children attending the preschool than among children not in the program. Sang Kancil has also provided maternal and health services to the squatter communities. Once a week, nurse practitioners set up a clinic providing the following services: immunization, prenatal and postnatal care, health education, nutrition, family planning, and treatment of minor illnesses. Sang Kancil's income-generation program seeks to raise the living standards of poor families by creating employment opportunities for women. Sang Kancil has established companies staffed, owned, and managed entirely by women. Among other things, these companies manufacture toys, batik items, and ceramics. The success of the companies has pushed shareholders above the poverty line.
The beginning of this year, 2020, has been a very challenging one as all over the world, we were caught right in the midst of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This pandemic is a serious global health threat, and its devastating effects are felt in all aspects of life. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that as of 17th May 2020, we have 4,534,731 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 307,537 deaths in total, throughout the world. In the WHO Western Pacific region, there were 167,546 confirmed cases, and 6,730 deaths while in the WHO Southeast Region, the COVID-19 accounted for a total of 136,314 confirmed cases, and 4,425 deaths (1). In Malaysia, the figure stood, thus far, at 6,872 confirmed cases, and 114 deaths while in Indonesia, there were 17,514 confirmed cases, and 1,148 deaths (2). Different countries are at different phases of this pandemic. While the curve may have flattened in some countries, there might still be spikes here and there. The COVID-19 pandemic has not disappeared; it is here to stay!